Month: October 2021

American Bumblebee vanishing

The American Bumblebee Has Vanished From Eight States In two decades, the insect’s population has declined by nearly 90 percent due to a combination of threats, including habitat loss, pesticides and diseases Elizabeth Gamillo Daily Correspondent October 6, 2021 American bumblebees are a vital pollinator for wildflowers and crops, and their decline could have severe … Continue reading American Bumblebee vanishing →

Social media can be harmful to your financial health

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/05/facebook-instagram-conspicuous-consumption/ Financial ‘FOMO’: How Facebook and Instagram can lead to bad spending habits Like, comment and spend: How social media platforms can influence you to make bad financial decisions By Michelle Singletary Columnist October 5, 2021 at 5:49 p.m. EDT In the personal finance world, a common mantra has always been: “Don’t try to keep up with … Continue reading Social media can be harmful to your financial health →

Vaccine mandate makes sense

https://slate.com/business/2021/09/biden-vaccine-mandate-right-call-5-reasons.html Five Extremely Simple Reasons Why Biden Made the Right Call Mandating Vaccines BY JORDAN WEISSMANNSEPT 10, 20216:19 PM Conservatives have collectively gone wild with rage and indignation over President Joe Biden’s new vaccine mandate for private businesses, which will require large employers to make sure their workers have either been inoculated or get tested weekly. In the … Continue reading Vaccine mandate makes sense →

New York State voters — info about the Constitutional amendments on the back of the ballot

I vote absentee so already have a copy of the ballot with five (5!!!) separate proposals to amend New York's constitution. These links contain an explanation of the particular provision and some discussion about the pros and cons of each. Just for jollies, I'll tell you I intend to vote in favor of four out … Continue reading New York State voters — info about the Constitutional amendments on the back of the ballot →

Moneyball analytics helped fight wildfires but they’re being tested with their increasing number and size

https://www.wsj.com/articles/moneyball-analytics-help-fight-wildfires-this-years-blazes-are-testing-their-limits-11631230478? ‘Moneyball’ Analytics Help Fight Wildfires. This Year’s Blazes Are Testing Their Limits. Forest conflagrations are so extreme that the best new weapons crews have—computer models to predict how flames spread—sometimes can’t keep up By Jim Carlton and Dan Frosch Sept. 9, 2021 7:34 pm ET SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.—When the Caldor Fire roared toward a granite ridge above South … Continue reading Moneyball analytics helped fight wildfires but they’re being tested with their increasing number and size →

Apple earned more from gaming than Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and Activision combined

https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/10/03/apple-earned-more-from-gaming-than-sony-nintendo-microsoft-activision-combined? Apple earns more from gaming than Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Activision combined Malcolm Owen | Oct 03, 2021 Apple's profits from gaming outweighed those of major game companies, according to a report, with Apple earning more from App Store games in its 2019 fiscal year than Nintendo, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and Sony combined.  The lawsuit between Epic and Apple brought many … Continue reading Apple earned more from gaming than Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft and Activision combined →

The meditative empathy of “Piranesi”

https://www.vox.com/culture/22677485/piranesi-susanna-clarke-vox-book-club The meditative empathy of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi Why you can’t unlock this novel’s secret meaning. By Constance Grady@constancegrady  Sep 17, 2021, 9:00am EDT Share this on Facebook (opens in new window)Share this on Twitter (opens in new window)SHAREAll sharing options Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers. One of the … Continue reading The meditative empathy of “Piranesi” →

How to adjust the brightness of your iDevice flashlight

https://mashable.com/article/how-to-adjust-iphone-flashlight-brightness How to adjust flashlight brightness on your iPhone It's very, very easy if you know how to get to your control center. (And we've got you even if you don't.)By Tim Marcin on October 3, 2021Adjusting flashlight brightness is super easy to do on your iPhone. Credit: Screenshots: Iphone A great thing about the iPhone flashlight is … Continue reading How to adjust the brightness of your iDevice flashlight →

Why are Americans still wearing cloth masks?

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/10/why-americans-wear-cloth-masks/620296/ Why Are Americans Still—Still!—Wearing Cloth Masks? It’s long past time for an upgrade.By Yasmin Tayag Patrick Zachmann / Magnum OCTOBER 4, 2021SHARE Every time I leave my apartment, I grab a mask from the stack by the door. After all these months of pandemic life, I’ve amassed a pretty big collection: Some are embroidered, while … Continue reading Why are Americans still wearing cloth masks? →

Georgia is where democracy is dying

By George Zornick, HuffPost, October 4, 2021 Republicans in Georgia have been busy this year. Through a bevy of laws and rule changes, both big and small, they are overhauling how people vote — and making it much harder to do so, predominantly for Democratic voters. HuffPost reporter Travis Waldron traveled there and chronicled the stealth effort for … Continue reading Georgia is where democracy is dying →

There will ALWAYS be another oil spill as the pipes get older

I want to again praise the Guardian UK which provides the best coverage of U. S. environmental issues in any mainstream mass media. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/03/california-oil-spill-orange-county-huntington-beach ‘There’s tar everywhere’: large California oil spill fouls beaches and kills wildlife Crews scramble to contain 126,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled in waters off Orange county before it spread … Continue reading There will ALWAYS be another oil spill as the pipes get older →